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MEAT_GOD

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Genuinely have no idea if anyone's done this before, but considering I couldn't find it anywhere, I'll go ahead and call myself the first (don't prove me otherwise, I'm having fun :( /j )

Due to how hot our summers get over here in Kuwait, with this summer regularly going well over 50 degrees Celsius, I needed some extra cooling for my transmission. And especially since I've already overheated the transmission before while off-roading, I considered this a necessity.

Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786708972322-ux
Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786708987039-zq

Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786709046768-15
Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786709104904-34


What I used:
Dana Tru-Cool 40,000 oil-to-air cooler
Tru-Cool External Thermal Bypass 708-4739P6
OEM Ford transmission oil lines (2.7l)
~7 liters transmission fluid
Custom fabricated cooler mount


How it was installed:


The most important thing to know, and the biggest problem we faced, was that the OEM 2.3l's heat exchanger cooler was mounted directly onto the transmission in/outlets, and the mounting meant that it was "pressure-fit" onto it, so you can't just mount any hose or fitting directly onto the ports without them bursting out.

Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786709807968-nx


The solution we chose, was rather than use a new standard hose connecting directly from the transmission flow ports, we decided to source an OEM cooler hose assembly from another Ford. While the 2.3 Bronco seems to be the only one with the cooler mounted directly onto the transmission, the 2.7l Bronco, Ranger, and the Bronco Raptor and Ranger Raptor, as well as other Fords with the 10-speed with a trans cooler equipped, all seem to have the heat exchanger mounted further up on the frame, with oil lines flowing from the transmission to the heat exchanger. So what we did was grab a new OEM oil line, bolted it to the mounting points above the flow ports and to the left of it with an included bracket, and then cut off the oil hard lines and spliced them with flexible high-heat hose right after it. After that, we routed the hoses to the Tru-Cool Thermal Bypass, which will allow the oil to heat up in cooler temperatures and then only begin cooling after the engine is warmed up, i.e. a thermostat. (lol, can't test that now... my engine already starts at operating temperatures, haha)

Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786710198842-zd


After that, routing the hoses from the thermal bypass to the transmission cooler is straightforward. All you'd need to do is to fabricate a custom mount for the transmission cooler, but that's not really that difficult. You can see with this image that there's tons of potential mounting points, so make your pick and go with it! The cooler is quite small.

Attached below are videos showing the full loop, as well as a video of the active grill shutters still working. Yes! As opposed to other aftermarket options for the 2.7, the active grill shutters don't need to be trimmed or anything :) there's enough space behind them for the cooler!

Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786710604075-wi


Before and after the mounting, ran at the same time of day, same external temp. (52c) and ran for the same length. The only difference is, I ran the post-cooler in Sport mode, just to abuse it more :) otherwise same speeds, highway for 30 mins. The cooling difference is insane!




Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786709078198-p0


Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786709795179-ks


Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786710182870-ea
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MEAT_GOD

MEAT_GOD

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P.S. I posted this on the 2.3l Ecoboost engine mods forum, since it's exclusive to the 2.3. But, if the mods think it should be in the transmissions forum, then I hope it can be moved there :)
 
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MEAT_GOD

MEAT_GOD

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Why not add an aluminum PPE tranny pan that holds an additional 2 quarts of fluid.
It's nearly the same cost as the transmission cooler (which also increases fluid capacity by a quart), and that's without shipping it to an active warzone. I just feel like its gains are far too marginal for it to cost as much as it does, especially for my use case.
 

TrailDamage

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Good job, I’m glad you got it all figured out. Love the instant satisfaction achieved going right out and testing it to prove how these vehicles really need the transmission fluid separated from the engine coolant loop in hot climates. It’s a mod I’ll continue to do as well.
 

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MEAT_GOD

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Good job, I’m glad you got it all figured out. Love the instant satisfaction achieved going right out and testing it to prove how these vehicles really need the transmission fluid separated from the engine coolant loop in hot climates. It’s a mod I’ll continue to do as well.
I was kinda mind-blown when I saw the heat exchanger it had. No wonder I kept overheating whenever I was belly-deep in sand and mud...
 

Chrome_Pony

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It's nearly the same cost as the transmission cooler (which also increases fluid capacity by a quart), and that's without shipping it to an active warzone. I just feel like its gains are far too marginal for it to cost as much as it does, especially for my use case.
It's marginal for damn near any use case, IMO. Mostly it just moves the thermal mass curve slightly right. More fluid by the pickup at steep angles, and potentially better pan cooling from heatsinks are about the few positives I see.

Side mounted trans cooler. Wild. I'll have to crawl under mine and look now.
 

Kevin Scarbel

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It's nearly the same cost as the transmission cooler (which also increases fluid capacity by a quart), and that's without shipping it to an active warzone. I just feel like its gains are far too marginal for it to cost as much as it does, especially for my use case.
Do not underestimate the benefits of a deep aluminum oil pan (heat dissipation) and an extra 2 quarts of (Amsoil) oil.
I hope you filled with Amsoil. It handles heat vastly better than anyone else's fluid.
 

23OBX2.7

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Very well done OP ans excellent write up that make is seems simple for most to DIY! :)
 

C6ZZGT

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P.S. I posted this on the 2.3l Ecoboost engine mods forum, since it's exclusive to the 2.3. But, if the mods think it should be in the transmissions forum, then I hope it can be moved there :)
So where did you cut the lines ?



Ford Bronco Tru-Cool Transmission Cooler installed on the 2.3 1786772400986-zd


Did you think about adding the whole 2.7 set up ?
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